Remembering the heroes of 9/11

As the eight year anniversary of that terrible day draws near, hundreds of thousands of people across this nation and even around the world join together to honor the people who lost their lives; and the many who selflessly offered aid; and the families who continue to live with the absence of their loved ones.

The White Dove Release Professionals, whose members service many areas all across the United States and Canada, will be sharing in the privilege of recognizing and remembering the beloved lost and the brave survivors of that day's tragedy by providing white dove releases at public and private ceremonies on September 11th.

May the beautiful white doves we release in memory and honor of the heroes and victims of September 11, 2001 bring a measure of healing and peace to all who witness their soaring flight.

Embraced Forevermore

As we remember our thoughts of eight years ago
sadness still lurks in the solemn shadows below.
As those towering inferno's fell to their death
the hero's within them drew their last breath.

It was a very sad ending to such a beautiful day
all of those people had died in such a horrible way.
The story's now history as we try to move forward
a hard thing to do when you think of the martyred.

As we remembered our thoughts of eight years ago
those people who jumped from a sky high window.
The ones in the buildings who were trapped by the fire,
the ones on the planes who never knew what transpired.

Police and firemen who climbed those stairs to rescue
anyone who had survived, no matter how few.
Their day had just started and little did they know,
they were the victims of a coward’s evil deathblow.

In honor of those hero's who went in our place
we will never forget you, you're forevermore embraced
by all of the Americans and the whole human race
as we try to move forward at a slow steady pace.

Each one of you died as a hero on that infamous day,
rest assured that your memories will never fade away.
In the land of a free democracy and in honor of our brave,
we fly Old Glory today and forevermore she'll wave!

Adapted from the poem by Jimmy Phillips, 2008
Source- www.sept11thmemorial.com

Professional White Dove Release Business leads to Scholarships

Twin sisters, Rene and Robyn Cooper, are co-owners of Highland Doves, a professional white dove release business located in Morgantown, West Virginia. They provide professional white dove release services for weddings, funerals, memorials, and special events such as their local American Cancer Society Relay for Life fundraising event, Veteran’s Day programs, and many other community benefit releases. The sisters have donated numerous professional white dove releases for non-profit events over the years.

Rene and Robyn began their white dove release business when they were just 15 years old. They received some coaching from their uncle who also raises pigeons, and has his own professional white dove release business. They began by building their own specialized pigeon loft from plans; doing the work themselves with a little assistance from their father. Once their loft was built they trained their first flock of young pigeons for the white dove release work, and continued to increase their flock by breeding, hatching and training more birds every year. This process has allowed them to build their business as the demand for their white dove release services has grown.

Rene and Robyn have operated their white dove release business very successfully, and almost totally independent of adult help since the beginning. At first the girls’ father had to drive them to do training tosses (training flights), and to their white dove release jobs because they weren't old enough to have driver’s licenses. But since the age of sixteen they have done all their training tosses, professional white dove releases and marketing events such as bridal fairs without any adult help.Rene is now a sophomore attending West Virginia University School of Dentistry. A couple of weeks ago one of her professors pulled her off to the side, and invited her to an upcoming awards banquet. Rene attended the banquet, figuring she was probably going to get a plaque or something similar. It came as quite a surprise to her when they were down to the final award of the night, and she was awarded a large scholarship for the rest of her college career. When she was presented with the award the crowd was informed that this was the most distinguished scholarship a dental student could receive from this school. To receive this award the recipient must excel in all categories of the dental school. Rene was advised during the presentation that the sponsor of the scholarship was impressed with her grades, her attitude and the fact that she had established and operated a professional white dove release business since the age of 15.

Robyn attends West Virginia University on the West Virginia Promise Scholarship. Her scholarship requires the recipient to maintain a 3.4 grade point average. Robyn feels that her experience with the white dove release business has contributed a great deal towards her being awarded and maintaining this scholarship.

Rene and Robyn both have bright futures ahead of them, and can thank their feathered friends for paving the way.